The Meet
by Cytisus
Summary: They ended up facing off with the most powerful Saurian Overlord their generation had ever seen . . . but how did this eclectic group come to be in the first place? A backstory to the First Face Off episodes; rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

My short little snippets of conversations and one-shots seem to always turn into something monstrous. I have problems. I have gone back and forth on this story for so long that I have decided to stop myself by posting, because I'll keep editing it and making it longer if I don't.

This does not follow the First Face Off episodes perfectly, but it's not really meant to. I took an episode and stretched it and molded it into the backstory of backstories.

* * *

The Meet

Wildwing watched from afar as Canard and the young female duck conversed heatedly a few yards away.

Despite the animated movements of the two they kept their voices quiet, leaving Wildwing and Nosedive unable to discern what they were talking about.

"What do you think is the hold up?" Nosedive finally whispered, brushing some dirt off his ripped up vest. Wildwing's younger brother's outfit had probably been the trendiest wear of Puckworld a year ago, but now they were faded and ripped up so much that they looked like they had a rust-colored overlay. His tan feathers hid most of the dirt and filth that coated him, but his usually blonde hair displayed the soot proudly.

The two brothers had only been out of their encampment for a couple of days. They would've been caught by now, too, if it hadn't been for Canard guiding them through the old sewage tunnels of the city. While escaping the encampments was not a very hard feat in most of the Saurian bases on DuCaine Metropolis, staying alive afterwards was.

Rather than reinforce security the Saurians opted to simply kill those that fled. It was a ruthless tactic that usually worked, especially when they brazenly presented the remains of escapees to the rest of the prisoners to ensure their obedience.

For the few that did escape and were never seen again, most zealously believed it was because they had joined the Resistance somewhere. Wildwing was realistic enough to realize, however, that most had probably succumbed to the harsh elements instead.

The Resistance was large, according to Canard, but they were thinly scattered to avoid being detected. They would remain that way until their upcoming mission was complete.

And what a hell of a mission it was.

"Don't know, Baby Bro," Wildwing finally responded, leaning against the wall of the alley they waited in. His own clothes had seen better days: his pants and shirt had faded to the same rusty color that seemed to plague the entire city and his red jacket—albeit still mostly in one piece—was worn so thin it felt like it didn't do anything at all. He was pretty sure his normally white feathers had been stained to a permanent shade of gray, too.

He sighed a bit and looked up at the skyline of DuCaine Metropolis to their south. A half mile north of them laid a Resistance base underground, most likely housing the young cadets that had been in Puckworld Academy when the Invasion hit. The female with Canard now was supposedly the daughter of General McMallard.

Wildwing wouldn't have known who that was if not for experiencing the first week of the Invasion. It took a few days before the Monitor Towers finally captured the city and, during that time, the news still managed to provide last minute safety rendezvous points and details of the battle.

He still remembered the day vividly, sitting with Nosedive and his parents in the basement and listening to the radio as the first retaliation commenced in the air above DuCaine Metropolis. The large airship of the military, the Guardian, bravely fought the Master Tower, believed to be the command center for all the smaller Monitor Towers bringing in massive robotic armies of Hunter Drones. The battle was intense and the Master Tower was nearly destroyed, but a cloning mechanism was initiated and left the Guardian fighting a blind enemy.

Without a target the Guardian quickly took on massive damage, rendering it to scrap metal.

General McMallard ordered evacuations and bravely stayed behind, maneuvering the large airship into the bay to avoid massive casualties. Wildwing's family lived north of the capital, but he still remembered the extreme suspense and subsequent gratitude as he sat with his family listening.

Eventually, as the weeks wore on, even the radio became nothing but static and left the world in a blackout. During the mass evacuations he and Nosedive had become separated from their parents. Not long after they were captured and enslaved to mine beryllium crystals.

The Master Tower was never seen again after that first day. Most believed it had taken refuge back in space, but Wildwing believed the damage it took in that first battle left it grounded somewhere. Either way, it remained cloaked and wisely so.

In present time the redhead crossed her arms and turned away from Canard, seemingly signaling the end of the conversation. Canard shook his head and walked back towards the two brothers.

Nosedive, always impatient, sighed in frustration. "Is she coming with us or what?" he asked the captain.

Canard gave Nosedive a rather curt glare, shutting the teenager up. "She is, don't worry."

"Canard, what's the issue?" Wildwing prompted a bit more tactfully than Nosedive, glancing back at the female who was now pacing slightly with her hands on her hips.

Canard followed his gaze. "She'll be going AWOL from her command on the base because we can't tell them what we're doing."

Both Wildwing and Nosedive cocked their heads questioningly. Nosedive was faster than Wildwing when he asked, "What? Why not?"

"We've had too many traitors in our midst. The Saurians are teaching ducks how to use their ancient magic … and it's brainwashing them into doing their bidding. If she tells her command the word will spread like wildfire. Even if there isn't a traitor on her base, it'll eventually find its way to one." Canard looked at the two brothers, his voice even more grim than usual: "And we got one shot at ending this."

Wildwing and Nosedive looked at each other, silent. "So I'm guessing AWOL is kind of a bad thing for you military types?" Nosedive finally asked, rubbing the back of his head.

Canard smirked but did not answer him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handheld computer, bringing up a small hologram to show their location within the city. He pressed a few commands on it, causing the hologram to show the route they'd be taking the next few days.

Despite the modern technology in his possession, Canard himself looked a little worse for wear. He wore a basic navy blue unitard, heavy combat boots and a tactical vest made of thick leather that housed a myriad of weapons and gear. Covering that was a brown jacket, also military-grade. Everything was well worn and his normally pristine brown feathers and hair were spotty with soot, a sign that even the Resistance knew to conserve their resources for more important things than new clothes and daily showers.

He hoped Canard had a few extra outfits lying around at his base, however, because Wildwing wasn't keen on going into battle with paper-thin clothes he'd been wearing for nearly a year.

And what he would give for even a five-minute shower….

Footsteps behind them caused all three to look and see the female mallard approach.

"You've made your decision, I take it," Canard stated rather than asked, his voice suddenly becoming much more assertive.

The redhead nodded, her hands clasped behind her back in a typical at-ease position. Her short flaming red hair was a stark contrast to her peach feathers and blue eyes. She wore a sleeveless purple unitard—the typical color of Puckworld military—as well as a lighter purple chest plate. Her utility belt had the Special Forces emblem engraved on its gold clasp: two crossed hockey sticks with the letters "PSF" in the background.

She looked at Nosedive and Wildwing questioningly, causing Wildwing to quickly look away from his studious observation of her.

Canard was prompted by her actions and nodded to the brothers. "Lieutenant Mallory McMallard, meet civilians Wildwing and Nosedive Flashblade."

Mallory did a double take. "Civilians, sir?" she asked, though her voice barely masked its incredulousness.

Nosedive did not look the least offended. "Lieutenant? I thought you guys said this was a school?"

Mallory flashed him an angry glance. "It was a school."

"What about the cadets?" Nosedive asked. "I thought these were all students or something."

"We're at war, there are no students," Mallory curtly explained. "First years were sent away. Second years and up given a weapon and orders. We don't have the resources nor the time to continue training anyone."

"So … were you a student?"

Mallory glared. "You ask a lot of questions."

"Jeez, sorry," Nosedive held up his hands in mock surrender.

"You and I will be the only military on this mission, McMallard," Canard answered her previous question, getting back to the task at hand. "I've picked civilians with certain skillsets to help avoid word getting out. You know as well as I do that it's our forces that are getting hit hard by traitors."

Mallory's earlier expression became masked quickly as she looked at Canard uncertainly. "Then why me, sir?"

"You're a McMallard."

"Yes, but what about—"

"Your brothers are knee-deep in drone missions taking out Raptors and Monitor Towers, McMallard. And while they might be a damn good shot they'd butt heads with a fellow rank running a rogue mission with a band of civilians. You, however, won't." Canard motioned to the others to start moving as he began walking down the alley. "Besides," he added over his shoulder, "Your hand-to-hand combat is much more useful for the task at hand."

Wildwing and Nosedive had begun following Canard at his prompt, but Mallory lagged behind slightly. When Wildwing turned back he saw her hands clenched tightly at her sides, obviously angry at Canard's response.

Wildwing didn't know much about the military, but he guessed Canard's answer was a bit of a slap in the face at Mallory's lower rank than her brothers. And ranks he knew enough of to know that you follow orders without question.

Canard had always been a hothead, of that Wildwing knew for certain. The way he was acting now, however, suggested he'd been faced with enough these past few months to make him a lot less forgiving in his actions and words.

Truth be told, he was sure all of them had seen more than enough to last a lifetime.

Wildwing knew there were three others that they had set out to find. He had not considered that nearly all of them would be civilians. Canard had gone through the basics of the mission but he had certainly not gone through the how.

Wildwing shook his head to himself as they continued down the alley and into an old warehouse, down to its basement and into the city's old sewage system. DuCaine Metropolis had since renovated to a more sophisticated system, leaving the zigzagging tunnels empty and forgotten about.

Well, the Resistance had certainly not forgotten about them. They were hard to get into since all the entrances on the streets had been sealed, but if you knew where to go they were a quick and easy way to progress through the city unseen. They were pitch-black, however, and Canard happened to be the only one with a flashlight. He opted to not point it forwards but down to the ground, illuminating their immediate area but keeping them from seeing too far ahead.

While illuminating ahead allowed you to see a good distance, it also alerted others of your whereabouts much more quickly. While not ideal, it was enough light to not trip on your own two feet. He also realized that Canard had been down here enough to have likely learned the hard way about alerting others of your whereabouts; for that, Wildwing kept his beak shut.

It would take them nearly an hour to make it back to their camp for the night. Wildwing sighed a bit at the thought, his body still weak from the encampments. Food there had consisted of cheap gruel, but even that sometimes became scarce. When they had taken off with Canard he had provided military-style meal packets that—while not exactly the best tasting—were filling and provided Wildwing and Nosedive with some well-needed nourishment.

But they'd been imprisoned for months and regaining their strength would take time that they unfortunately did not have.

Canard was up ahead a few paces, followed by Nosedive. While there was no sewage in the sewage lines, the smell of what once was lingered pretty well. It didn't help that the water still seeped in from time to time, too, humidifying the unpleasant aroma and causing their footsteps to echo with the occasional splash as they silently made their way through the maze.

"Stop," Mallory whispered, startling Wildwing. It was a firm but simple command.

He followed it, stopping his progression. He hissed to Nosedive, who turned and looked back at him questioningly. Wildwing quickly motioned with his head and Nosedive turned back, promptly realizing Canard was getting too far ahead. Taking his chances, Nosedive hastily but quietly jogged ahead, trying to avoid the puddles as best he could. He grabbed Canard's shoulder, causing the large duck to turn around and shrug him off angrily.

The captain stopped himself from saying anything, however, when he saw Wildwing and Mallory further back. Mallory had pulled out a pucklauncher from her holster, aimed down and away from her. She hand signaled Canard with three fingers, motioning to her right.

Wildwing had no idea what she was saying, but up ahead there was a T-section in the tunnels. He strained to listen and, sure enough, through the silence he heard more footsteps coming their way.

Canard cupped the head of his flashlight with his hand, leaving only a faint glow to illuminate their area. He quickly made his way back to Wildwing and Mallory, Nosedive following.

"There was an impromptu scouting this morning," Mallory whispered. "I think it's them returning."

Canard silently cursed. "If they see us here they'll make us return to base."

Mallory shook her head. "You have your identification, right? You have authority here. They'll recognize your name from the Lordar stronghold—we've done a lot of supply trading with them." Mallory looked up and away from the group. "But if they see me here they'll suspect something's up."

Canard nodded, thinking. "Wildwing, does your jacket have a hood?"

Wildwing nodded and, understanding where this was going, hastily shrugged it off. Mallory handed Canard her pucklauncher, put the jacket on and flipped the hood up. She quickly took off her belt with the military logo etched on its buckle and also handed it to Canard.

Canard placed the pucklauncher in an inside pocket on his jacket and shoved the belt into a small sack attached to his own belt.

Mallory zipped up the jacket, hiding her armor. The jacket was huge on her and hid her figure pretty well. With the hood up and hiding her red hair she quickly transformed herself from a well-known Lieutenant to a civilian in the blink of an eye.

"You're with him," Canard directed his words to Mallory but pointed at Wildwing, "and I'm taking you to the Lordar base because you believe your little sister is there."

The three other ducks nodded. Canard turned back around and uncovered his flashlight, pulling out his own pucklauncher from its holster.

He aimed the weapon down and the flashlight forward, its beam hitting the far wall of the T-section. The footsteps coming from that direction stopped abruptly.

Wildwing felt an arm snake around his and looked down to see Mallory next to him. She kept her face down and used her other hand to pull the hood over her face as far as it would go.

"IDENTIFY YOURSELVES!" A booming voice echoed from the hall, well aware that Canard's light was a purposeful announcement of their whereabouts.

"Captain Canard Thunderbeak, Lordar base, with three civilians!"

There was more silence, followed by: "Lieutenant Herald with Sergeants Jasper and Quill, Academy base. We'll be rounding the corner with weapons drawn, sir, until identification can be made!"

Mallory cursed silently, causing Canard to look at her questioningly.

"Weapon drawn, will wait here Lieutenant," Canard answered back to the strangers, his eyes still on Mallory. "What's the problem?" he whispered to her.

"You can't say we have a sister at Lordar—Herald deals with the civilians on both bases." Canard cursed silently as well, turning back as he heard the three quickly approaching. They hadn't rounded the corner yet.

Mallory's eyes searched the ground as she thought. She looked back up at Canard. "I'm going to interrupt you, just follow my lead. Mention Greading," she whispered quickly.

Canard's expression changed as he recognized the name and he nodded, turning back and waiting with his pucklauncher aimed towards the ground.

Mallory leaned into Wildwing. "When I leave, follow. When I tell you to say something, say it like it's true."

Wildwing swallowed hard but nodded. Acting was never one of his strong suits.

Nosedive, overhearing everything, glanced over at his brother and jokingly whispered, "Why do you always get the chicks, Wing?"

Wildwing shot him a glare but stayed silent. Mallory didn't respond and, taking a risk to look down, Wildwing realized very quickly that she was anxious.

While they weren't in any real danger, being discovered would probably mean a dishonorable discharge from her position. Wildwing imagined a fate like that would mark her as a traitor to most of the ducks she knew.

For many, that'd probably be a fate worse than enslavement or death.

Wildwing had no idea how to act in a situation like this, but Mallory's anxiety made him want to put on the act of his life. He took a deep breath and tried to imagine the situation they've concocted as real.

With that in mind he took his arm that Mallory was holding and wrapped it protectively around her back. She was startled when he moved it but quickly saw what he was doing. In return she took her arms and wrapped them around herself tightly, keeping her body slightly to the side and behind him. To anyone looking at them it would appear that she was afraid and he was attempting to protect her.

To add to that Nosedive took a step forward and to the side, partially standing in front of her.

Canard's flashlight beam fogged with shadows as three ducks rounded the corner, weapons aimed at the group. They walked briskly and purposely, prepared for any counter movements.

Canard and the rest kept still, Canard's weapon aimed towards the ground.

When the group finally approached Canard stated, "I'm going to reach into my pocket for my identification."

A tall light gray duck with blonde hair shook his head. "No need, I recognize you. I was on Lordar base for supplies a month ago. Captain Herald," he introduced himself by pulling out his own identification.

Canard took it and looked at it, nodding before he returned it.

Herald motioned to the other male ducks and they holstered their weapons, Herald following suit. "What brings you to Academy?"

Canard took a deep sigh, feigning a bit of relief that the three ducks were who they said they were. "Actually, I'm taking these three to Lordar," he stated, indicating with his head behind him.

Herald squinted his eyes slightly at the three. "They're not from Academy. You find them in this area?"

Mallory hunched over, startling Wildwing. His arm was still around her and he wanted to say something but quickly realized saying her name would not be wise. Hoping he wasn't about to make an ass of himself, he reached for her gently and asked, "Emma..?"

"Emma" groaned and she hoarsely whispered, "I think I'm going to be sick." Without waiting for a response she ran to the side of the large tunnel, kneeling where the ground began to shift upwards from the tunnel's round shape and propping herself up with one hand.

Wildwing was frozen to his spot from Herald's quick reach for his gun. However, when the three ducks saw where Mallory went they paused in their actions, perplexed.

Wildwing took the opportunity to quickly follow after her. He came up behind her, placing his arm around her. Before he could say anything he saw Mallory discreetly stick her finger down her throat, causing her to instinctively gag.

Wildwing nearly gagged himself when he saw her but kept up his act well, using his large form to block the others from seeing what she was doing.

It only took one more self-gag before Mallory threw up on the side of the tunnel, the sound quite real to all within the immediate area.

Herald made a face and looked back to Canard questioningly. "Is she all right…?"

After Mallory's first heave she whispered to Wildwing: "Pregnant."

Wildwing looked back at the group. "She's pregnant," he stated, his voice laced with worry.

Herald's expression softened significantly, taking Canard by surprise. The tan duck hid his expression well however, instead turning to look at Wildwing and Mallory as he heard yet another episode of vomiting.

Herald shook his head slightly as he returned his attention to Canard. "I see. Is that why you're taking them to Lordar?"

Canard nodded. "Yes, with Dr. Greading there I think it might be best for her."

Herald nodded almost compassionately. "Yes, my own mate was recently there because she was with child, too."

"Oh?" Canard stated, a hint of donning flashing his features. "Is a congratulations in order?"

Herald smiled and it was obvious he was proud. "Yes, thank you. Healthy boy, three and a half kilograms."

Canard's smile became larger and he patted Herald on the shoulder. "That's fantastic news; something we all need these days."

Herald nodded, his attention reverting back to Mallory. "My mate had some terrible sickness in the beginning as well. How far along is she?"

Mallory, still breathing heavily from forcing herself to vomit, whispered quietly to Wildwing: "Three months."

"About three months," Wildwing said aloud, briefly looking at Herald. At that point Mallory slowly began to stand, Wildwing helping her. He waited until she nodded and he slowly guided her back to the group, Mallory keeping her head down low and an arm only lightly on her stomach to keep the sweater looking baggy on her.

Herald glanced at Nosedive and Canard. "I sure hope you don't plan on making the whole trip tonight, do you?"

Canard shook his head. "Oh, I set up camp about halfway there already. I wanted to make sure the area looked safe first."

Herald, happy with that response, motioned to the other two ducks with him. "Well, we'll let you be on your way then." He walked around the group, only stopping briefly next to Wildwing. "Take good care of her," he added.

Wildwing nodded, his arm still around Mallory.

"We'll be getting supplies in three weeks," Herald added, turning back around at the group. "I hope to see you all there?"

Canard nodded. "I'm in and out of there quite a bit, but I'm sure we'll cross paths again."

Herald smiled and nodded, once again motioning to his group to continue down the path Canard's group had just come from.

"Congrats again!" Canard called, waving. Herald did not turn around but waved in response.

Canard silently looked at his team and nodded, walking towards the T-section of the tunnel. The rest followed silently.

It wasn't until they had rounded the corner and gone about a half a block did Mallory push herself off Wildwing.

She quickly shrugged out of his jacket, handing it to him. "Good job," she finally said, her voice still hoarse.

Wildwing nodded, taking the jacket and slipping it on. "You're the one that made yourself throw up."

"Yeah, dude. Ew," Nosedive responded, shivering. "Do that often girly-girl?"

Mallory glared at him, brushing her hair with her hands to fix what the hood had messed up. "We're taught that in case we need to swallow something for safety."

During this time Canard had reached into his sack and retrieved Mallory's belt, as well as her pucklauncher from his jacket. He handed them to her and stated, "I guess that training has a lot of uses." He smirked as she snatched her belongings quickly.

"It worked, didn't it?" she snipped, placing her belt back on.

"Yeah, you knew exactly what to say to keep him from getting suspicious," Nosedive commented. "Is conning ducks another one of your talents?"

With her belt in place Mallory hastily placed her pucklauncher in its holster. "I only knew about his situation because I helped bring his mate and kid back to the Academy. I'm not a fan of using ducks, but I knew he wouldn't ask too many questions with that kind of situation, okay?"

Wildwing, hearing the defense rising in her voice, calmly stated, "It worked well, I think."

Mallory sighed. "He'll follow up when he returns to Lordar base, unfortunately."

"By then you'll be a hero, McMallard," Canard stated, his voice back in a military tone. "He won't give two feathers about that lie once he knows what you were a part of."

Mallory's head bent down slightly and she did not respond. Wildwing hoped, for her sake, that was true.


	2. Chapter 2

The camp they had set up before coming to retrieve Mallory was exactly where they had left it, proving the tunnels were still a well-kept secret. Canard reached into a large pack as the other three sat down wherever the concrete looked mostly dry.

"Dude, I'm beat," Nosedive lamented, pulling a boot off to rub his foot. "My shoes have no tread to be damned."

Canard, pulling out a large canister of water, unlatched the wide cap and took a swig. "Once we gather everyone I have a base with supplies we can use to prepare." After his drink he handed the canister to Wildwing.

"Where we heading next?" Wildwing asked, also taking a drink from the canister.

"Mallory was the furthest out. Tomorrow we'll be retrieving Duke and Tanya."

"Who're they?" Nosedive asked. Wildwing handed the canister of water to Mallory.

"Duke L'Orange—"

Mallory coughed on her water. "The mob leader?" she spat, handing the canister to Nosedive as she continued to cough. "You can't be serious, sir."

Canard sighed, sitting down on a concrete block that had become dislodged from the floor. "He's been helping the military out a lot, actually. The Brotherhood of the Blade has essentially dissolved since the Invasion. Most are either caught, fending for themselves like anyone else lucky enough to not be imprisoned, or using their skills to fight alongside us." Mallory looked ready to say something else, but Canard added: "Look, I was pretty wary at first, too. But the duck's legit: I have multiple sources confirming the missions he's helped on, and he's since been pardoned. Ducks can change, McMallard."

"From what I recall they usually only change for the worse, sir."

Canard and Mallory were tensely silent as they stared at one another. Canard finally answered, "Lieutenant, unless you have someone else that isn't military in mind, I suggest you stop questioning my decisions." The words were simple but the tone was icy.

Mallory continued to remain silent as the two ducks had their staring battle. With her knees bent up she rested her arms on top of them and finally averted her gaze. "Yes, sir," was all she responded with.

"So is Tanya his mob lover or something?" Nosedive quickly changed the subject, drinking from the water canister.

Canard sighed. "Tanya Vanderflock is the lead scientist and engineer at Metro-Guard Industries. I was lucky enough to come across her during a scouting mission to determine the kind of computer system the Saurians use. She'll be the one making sure Dragaunas' system is taken offline."

"She works for the government?" Wildwing asked, recognizing the name of the company.

"Military, mostly. She's been helping to design combat vehicles that are easier to maneuver against the Hunter Drones."

"How are we going to get her unnoticed?" Mallory asked, apparently shaking off whatever tension they had built up moments ago.

"She has a team that works below her and, supposedly, she's been known to hole herself up for days at a time when she's got a new project she's working on. She plans to use that to buy herself a few days."

"Is that everyone?" Nosedive asked, folding his arms and leaning against the side wall of the large tunnel.

"No, there'll be one more to retrieve the day after: Check Hardwing."

"Who's he?"

Canard smiled. "A duck that makes hunter drones look like baby chicks."

Nosedive whistled. "That's a big duck."

"He's about as strong as a dozen of them, too."

"And how does the mask fit into all this?" Mallory asked, her eyes drifting to the satchel attached to Canard's belt.

He followed her gaze. "The Saurian Lords were once defeated with it; I plan to make sure it happens again."

His response was purposely vague, enough so that Mallory did not press for more information. Wildwing sighed a bit, realizing that there were some unresolved issues between his friend and the redhead.

Whatever it was, they needed to get over it and fast. They wouldn't survive long on this mission otherwise.

The group ended up resting for half an hour or so, each absorbed in their own thoughts. Canard handed out some blankets and meal packets before taking his seat again. He pulled out a small electrical lantern and turned it on, illuminating their surroundings a bit better.

Mallory hadn't brought any supplies with her, most likely to lessen suspicion. She had placed Canard's meal packet and blanket down where she had originally sat, opting to keep watch at the mouth of the intersecting tunnels.

Nosedive, quickly realizing that the atmosphere was lacking, took it upon himself to fill the silence with random stories. Wildwing nodded every once in a while or chimed in a brief response, but eventually even Nosedive began to bore himself to sleep.

Canard was peering over his hologram map again, his attention never swaying. Wildwing smiled and shook his head.

"How long has it been?" Wildwing quietly asked.

Canard glanced up. "What?"

"Since we last saw each other."

Canard frowned a bit as he thought. "Drake, we were together on the day it started, weren't we? That was thirteen months, eleven days ago."

"What happened to you? I mean, I know you were in the Academy but you never came back. Your folks—"

"My parents knew what I had to do," Canard answered almost defensively.

Wildwing shook his head. "I didn't mean—your folks came with us, when we began to evacuate. But they started attacking and the crowd was just chaotic . . . I managed to keep Dive with me, but our parents—your parents—we never saw any of them again."

Canard kept eye contact with Wildwing for a moment before looking back at his map. "Everything became chaotic."

Wildwing watched him for a few seconds. "So what did you end up doing?"

Canard looked up again. "Came to the Academy. Like McMallard said, even us students were valuable if we had a few years of experience under our belt. I went with the convoys, others joined the Guardian."

"How did you end up becoming a captain?"

"By surviving."

Wildwing didn't quite know how to respond to that. He watched the brown mallard but eventually turned his attention to his meal packet, opting to pick at its contents and try to get some food in him.

Canard kept his attention to the map he was holding but occasionally glanced back up at Wildwing. The silence was deafening except for a few random snores from Nosedive. Canard eventually sighed, however, and placed his portable computer away. "I don't … I honestly don't know how to hold a conversation anymore, Wing. We've been at this game for so long now that I feel like it's all I'll ever know or be good at.

"But, for what it's worth, I'm glad I found you alive."

Wildwing was startled by the sudden onset of conversation but covered it quickly. He smiled at his friend, shaking his head. "I knew you'd be alive. Takes more than a few thousand drones to bring you down."

Canard rolled his eyes at him but smiled nonetheless. Mallory walked up at that time, stopping their conversation. She grabbed the flask of water and took a few gulps before nodding to the two.

"I'm going to scout both directions before settling in for the night, sir."

Canard nodded to her and she left, grabbing the flashlight before heading down the tunnel and into the darkness.

Wildwing watched her leave and turned back to Canard. "You mentioned the others, but you didn't mention how you knew her."

Canard glanced in the direction she went as he took his own swig of water from the canister. "We were both third years."

Wildwing's eyebrows rose. "That explains a lot. You both seem really competitive with each other."

Canard shrugged. "I don't know about competitive now . . . but I guess we used to be. McMallard is a big military name though," his voice lowered to barely a whisper as soon as he said her last name, despite the fact that she had left.

"Yeah, I remember hearing about her dad."

"Dad and four older brothers. Safe to say it didn't take much for her to get accepted into the Academy," Canard added curtly. "But, no one let her forget it, either. She ended up having to pull her weight and then some from it, too."

"So what's with the tension between you two?"

Canard let out a breathy, bitter sound that couldn't be classified as a laugh or a sigh. "One of her older brothers is the reason I'm captain now."

Wildwing frowned. "She didn't like that he made you captain?"

Canard shook his head. "No, it wasn't a choice Wing."

Wildwing suddenly remembered Canard's answer to becoming a captain: by surviving.

"What happened?"

Canard shrugged slightly, bringing his knees up so he could rest his arms on them. "Reconnaissance of a Monitor Tower a few months back. Ben and—er, Captain McMallard—and I needed information on how they used the beryllium to power their force fields. Mallory and the rest stayed back as distraction.

"We got what we needed and headed back, but ended up getting caught by air surveillance. The pack of hunter drones that came after us was brutal and McMallard got hit, hard."

Canard paused briefly, shaking his head again as he stared at the lantern between the two mallards. "I got him out of there and back to the rest, but he was bleeding out fast. Mallory was the last one with him. After he … well, when she came back she told me I was captain."

Wildwing watched Canard stare daggers into the ground. He glanced back at where the redhead had disappeared from sight.

"She blames you?"

Canard was silent for a while. "I don't think so. But after her dad and another brother, I imagine there was at least some part of her that had wished it'd have been me instead."

Wildwing swallowed the piece of his meal in his mouth heavily, his appetite pretty much gone. He placed his meal packet down on the ground, using a free hand to rub the side of his temple tiredly. "A little over a year ago I was about to graduate university. Nosedive was about to graduate high school, and you were about to start Special Ops training."

Canard looked up at him, smirking despite the situation: "Now we're all just trying to stay alive."


	3. Chapter 3

The trip the next morning was bitterly cold. A front must have moved in through the night, layering everything it touched with a thin layer of ice. Wildwing's old and battered jacket proved no match for the crisp air. He, along with his brother, kept their arms tightly crossed in front of them as they continued their long walk through the wilderness.

They had made it to the other side of the city via the sewers in only a couple of hours and had traversed upwards to the outside world. On the western border of DuCaine Metropolis was a densely overgrown forest, providing them some protection from the constant watch of hunter drones and enemy aircraft.

But the woods were also well-known hiding grounds for escaped prisoners, so multiple times throughout the walk they had to press themselves against a large tree trunk to avoid detection from enemy watchers flying by.

Nonetheless they brazenly kept close to the edge of the forest: being so close to the city would mean they'd have less chance of running into escapees (who wouldn't be stupid enough to keep that close to an enemy-occupied area) and, at the same time, the surveillance would only pass over them en route to the deeper recesses of the forest.

While Wildwing would have loved to help those that had been strong enough to escape, he knew that they could be of no help to those fugitives. They had barely enough supplies to care for themselves as it was.

"All right team, this is it."

Wildwing nearly collided with his brother in front of him from the sudden stop. He glanced up at Canard and saw the captain peering past a couple trees toward the city. Following his gaze he saw an old dilapidated warehouse not too far away.

"We're going in there?" Nosedive squeaked.

"It's one of the old entrances to the Brotherhood," Canard answered him, his eyes scanning the area cautiously.

"Old?" Mallory questioned. Canard had supplied her an old military jacket from his few supplies, which was far too large on her. She unzipped it and pulled up the sleeves, giving her clear access to the pucklauncher still in its holster on her belt.

"He wasn't dumb enough to give us their new whereabouts, McMallard." Canard snipped. After a few moments he finally took his eyes off the surroundings ahead of them and looked back at his companions. "L'Orange will meet us in there and help us north to Vanderflock's base."

"We're not going back to the sewers?" Wildwing asked with only a hint of disappointment; after all, the sewers _had_ been a lot warmer.

"They've collapsed over here, unfortunately. We'll have to do our best on the streets."

Nosedive exchanged a worried glance with his brother. Neither of them had a weapon to protect themselves with, and neither Mallory nor Canard had a gun to spare.

Canard motioned the team to follow and began making his way into the open, deserted field that led to the warehouse. It was midday now, but the cold front had brought in some dismal-looking clouds that, combined with heavy smog from the Saurians' factories, refused to let sunlight touch down onto the ground.

The pseudo darkness benefited their risky trek into the open area, however, and provided the necessary cover from enemy detection. Canard's pace went from a fast walk to a quick jog as soon as they were completely exposed. His footsteps were agile and quiet as he led the way, followed by Nosedive, Wildwing, and Mallory bringing up the rear. The adrenaline kept their breathing to a minimum too, as every second of vulnerability felt like minutes.

They finally reached the far side of the building, all of them pressing themselves up against the heavy alloy wall as if they would melt into it. No alarms sounded and no search lights turned on. They took a few moments to collect their respective breaths, still keeping as quiet as possible.

Canard motioned silently with his hand and rounded the corner, staying close to the wall. They traversed its long side about a quarter of the way before Canard stopped and pulled out his handheld computer.

He inputted some information and pressed something that caused a scanner light to emit. He aimed it at an old control box that was attached to the wall.

It made a very quiet beep after a few seconds. With a hiss the door next to it slid open, allowing access to inside. All four quickly made their way in.

The door hissed shut behind Mallory and a collective sigh of relief was heard, both from their newfound cover as well as the sudden protection from the brutal elements outside.

The warehouse itself was pitch-black. Canard pulled out his flashlight and turned it on, unafraid of alerting the outside of their whereabouts. It was common knowledge that warehouses were made of solid alloy and were windowless, mainly to protect its supplies from Puckworld's harsh winter storms.

The beam of light revealed old crates and broken down machinery covered in dust. Canard took a step forward but quickly stopped, pulling out his modified pucklauncher.

"Halt!"

Mallory had pulled out her pucklauncher at the same time, aiming at the darkness. Wildwing took a step back, instinctively stepping in front of his brother even though he could not see what the danger was.

"'ey now, we start fightin' ea'hother then where will we be?"

The voice materialized seemingly out of nowhere, but Wildwing followed Canard and Mallory's aim to see a faint silhouette of a figure stepping out from behind some crates. As the figure approached Wildwing could see nothing but a piercing red dot emanating out of the darkness.

Canard lowered his weapon at the heavily accented voice but Mallory did not.

"You gonna shoot a stranger Sweetheart?"

Mallory growled but a quick glare from Canard kept her from saying anything. She reluctantly lowered her weapon.

The figure finally stepped into Canard's flashlight beam, allowing Wildwing to get a good look at the stranger. He had dark gray feathers and a maroon unitard equipped with a gold utility belt. It was partially covered by a thick black coat, but Wildwing could still see the gold saber he held in his right hand. It was pointed to the ground and half hidden by the trench coat's tail, but its shiny metal gleamed from the flashlight.

In addition, Wildwing could see that the red dot he had seen earlier came from the stranger's right eye: he wore a black patch over it, but the small piercing red light shined through, suggesting that his eye had been either replaced or retrofitted with some sort of machinery. A chip in his beak completed his rugged appearance.

"Oh oh oh, the famous thief of Puckworld!" Nosedive exclaimed, stepping out from behind his brother. "I didn't recognize the name but I remember seeing your 'Most Wanted' poster on _Crimes of the Metro_!" He approached the newcomer with ease, holding out his hand.

The gray duck quirked an eyebrow at him. "Didn't think I'd be meetin' up wit' any fans today." He accepted Nosedive's outstretch hand, however, and shook it.

"Duke L'Orange, kid," he introduced himself.

"Nosedive Flashblade, at your service!" Nosedive enthusiastically shook his hand.

Canard holstered his weapon and nodded to Mallory to do the same. Duke glanced at Mallory and Wildwing, crossing his arms as he studied them.

"Let me guess: military and hates me," Duke pointed to Mallory, ". . . and a civil'an that 'as some cool trick up 'is sleeve an' who has pro'ly ne'er 'eard o' me."

Mallory sighed and did not respond. Wildwing grinned and shook his head.

"No tricks here."

"Canard wouldn't o' picked you ot'erwise," Duke insisted. He again glanced to Mallory, smirking at her obvious disdain towards him. "Sweetheart, I promise I don' bite."

"Call me _Sweetheart_ one more time and—"

"McMallard, cool it for once."

Mallory's fists balled tightly to her sides and she glared at Canard. "Just because you're captain now does _not_ give you the right to slap me around like some first year, _Canard_. I'm here for my brothers and father—either you take my help or you don't, but I've already gone AWOL."

Canard turned to her. "No, they _think_ you've gone AWOL McMallard. You're still in the military and you still follow commands whether or not you like them. And your hotheadedness has gotten us into more jams than I can count—"

"Shove it, _Captain_!" Mallory's voice boomed but did not outright yell. "My so-called temper WOULD have kept us out of traitors' traps if you had bothered to listen!"

"Drake, you're gonna pin this on me now?" Canard retorted, his own voice rising dangerously.

" _He killed my brother and you let him!_ " Mallory was smart enough to not yell, but the venom in her voice was thick enough to kill. "I told you he wasn't trustworthy, but did you listen? No, you—"

"Your brother was captain then, Mal, or have you forgotten that?! I didn't trust him, but it wasn't like I could've gotten Ben to change his damn mind! As bad as your temper is his trust in others was even worse!" Canard's voice strained a bit at the end, his own emotions surfacing despite his best attempts.

Mallory didn't respond to that. She was breathing heavily as they glowered at one another.

"I didn't let that damn traitor kill him, McMallard. He got the jump on me too. And I sure as hell didn't make myself captain from it!"

Wildwing, Nosedive and Duke all stood motionless, afraid to distract either of the arguers.

The staring contest between the two finally broke as Mallory turned and walked past Wildwing back to the warehouse door. Wildwing didn't dare try to stop her.

"McMallard!"

Mallory shook her head but did not stop.

"Mal, don't do this!" Canard's voice raised again but he did not yell.

Mallory hesitated at the control box but did not turn around.

Canard gritted his teeth. "I'm sorry about Ben, I am. But we've all _lost_ in this war, Mal. Is it the title you want? Because I don't know why the hell he made me and not you captain. I don't care about the damn title. Drake, we're _third years._ We shouldn't even be lieutenants yet!"

Mallory's balled fists were still at her sides with her back to the group, her small form nearly shaking from the anger. Rather than opening the warehouse door, however, she turned and determinedly walked back to the group.

She stopped two feet away from Canard, facing him. " _No_ , _Captain_ , I do not want your damn title.

"What I would like is for you to stop acting like I'm some jealous classmate trying to one-up you. I am NOT a McMallard by choice, I assure you—and I'm not going to pretend like you don't think I deserve to be here, just like everyone else in that damned school.

"I don't want to be a lieutenant and you don't want to be a captain. I get that. So treat me like a team member and not some damn lackey and we'll get along _just fine_."

Mallory paused for a moment and swallowed hard, her eyes never leaving Canard's. "And don't pretend like you knew Ben because you _didn't_. I made you captain, not him."

Mallory took a step back, glared at the other three occupants of the warehouse, and walked past Duke and Nosedive toward the other side of the building.

"Let me know when you're ready to leave, _Captain,_ " she called back before disappearing into the heavy darkness.

The silence afterwards was deafening.

* * *

No one said anything for quite some time after that. Canard, in his brooding anger, had walked to the other side of the warehouse and was currently engrossed with something on his handheld computer.

Mallory had kept to the darkness on the other side of the warehouse and had not made a sound.

Duke, to his benefit, leaned back against a crate and began sharpening his saber out of boredom.

Nosedive had plopped to the ground, taken off his worn boots, and was currently drawing in dust on the ground with his index finger.

Wildwing paced. He was a mediator by nature and always had been, especially with Canard. The tan mallard was an only duckling, which meant he had been pretty well spoiled, and he usually excelled at anything he put his mind to.

He also never let anyone forget that, either.

Wildwing could not count the amount of times he had to help convince Canard to apologize to another friend—or even a teacher, for that matter. It was never an easy task, either, because Canard was also equally prideful and stubborn.

Near the end of high school he nearly had a falling out with Canard because the tan mallard and Nosedive, who was a first year at the time, began a fight at the school. They were exact opposites, and always had been. The fact that the two hadn't blown up at each other in just these past couple of days was a surprise in and of itself.

But he imagined the resulting explosion would have been no less ugly than Canard's and Mallory's own heated argument.

Wildwing paused and frowned at Canard from a distance. He had heard quite a different story last night regarding Canard's promotion to captain. Based off what he heard he imagined Canard was rather ashamed to have told the whole truth.

This also told Wildwing that it was something that bothered Canard immensely.

It had nearly been an hour and they still had many miles to travel. Wildwing sighed and gave a silent plea to Drake DuCaine before approaching his old friend.

Canard glanced up at Wildwing and returned his attention to his computer.

"Not now, Wing."

"It's been an hour, Canard."

"Then let it be two hours, Wing."

Wildwing glared at him. "You managed to keep her from leaving, didn't you? I think an hour is enough time to let you two hotheads cool off."

Canard slammed his handheld shut. "So you're going to mock the captain now, too?"

Wildwing crossed his arms and did not respond right away. "Why'd you lie about it?" he finally asked, no anger in his voice.

Canard sighed, seeing the question coming a mile away. "I didn't lie."

"You never mentioned a traitor."

"Well, there was a traitor. They let the Saurians know our whereabouts when we were leaving, air surveillance triggered the alarm and they turned on us when the brigade showed up."

Wildwing frowned as he watched Canard explain. "It sounded like they had it out for you."

"Yeah, they did. But that's what traitors do, right? I didn't think the grisly details were all that important."

"Like hell you didn't."

"Look, it was a touchy subject. She hates me for it and I blame myself for it. I _thought_ it was water under the bridge."

"So apologize."

"I _did_."

"No, you half-apologized and then backhanded it by telling her to take your rank."

"Well, apparently _she_ was the one that gave me the rank in the first place."

Wildwing smiled bitterly and rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'm no psychologist here but I'm thinking that maybe having your brother die in your arms is probably one of the worst things you can experience.

"And to be told to go and be captain right before that might just be a bit overwhelming for someone who was a student a year ago. She obviously thought you were the next best candidate for the position—and I'm guessing she had the authority to give you her rank since she was temporarily captain—so I don't really see what's the problem here."

"There isn't one."

Both Wildwing and Canard jumped at the sound of Mallory's voice. She approached them from the side, appearing out from behind some crates.

"Sorry sirs, didn't mean to eavesdrop." Mallory pointedly looked at Wildwing and he felt like crawling under a rock for a good long while.

"I didn't mean any offense—"

"None taken." Mallory interrupted and looked to Canard expectantly, her arms behind her in a typical at-ease position.

It was clear that her military persona was back in full swing.

Canard watched her for a moment before placing his computer back in his satchel. "All right team, let's head out."

* * *

"Remind me not ta get on yer bad side, darlin'," Duke commented quietly as the group made their way through the deserted alley.

Mallory, behind the ex-thief, did not respond. Wildwing was in front of both of them and shook his head exasperatedly. Duke was a lot like Nosedive in a lot of ways, and having two of Nosedive in anything wasn't a good idea.

He hoped for Canard's sake the former leader of the Brotherhood of the Blade had some handy skillsets to use for their upcoming mission.

Aside from Duke's comment as they set out, not much else was said. Nosedive's usual joking demeanor was overshadowed by his obvious hunger and exhaustion. They had one more day to go before they could get some real rest, actual food, and a hopefully a shower.

Then they could set out on their suicide mission.

Wildwing shivered as another gust of wind rushed through the tall buildings they walked between. The sunlight never did find the city, leaving their journey nicely shadowed from enemy eyes.

It unfortunately kept the temperature bitterly cold too, however.

A little over an hour later they came to a large street. A year ago it would have been filled with traffic and ducks; now it was barren, covered in snow, and scarily quiet.

Across the street was the city's public library. Wildwing glanced over Canard's shoulder to see the hologram map showing they had reached their destination. He glanced back up at the library incredulously.

"We're here," Canard whispered to the rest, pocketing his computer. Duke walked up and stood beside the captain expectantly.

Wildwing frowned. "I thought this place was destroyed early on?"

"It was. They're not in the library—they're below it."

"We're not going in, right? Wouldn't the government, ya know, be aware of us trespassing or something?" Nosedive asked.

"She needs a distraction to get out," Canard answered him but looked to Duke. Duke nodded in return.

"Be back in a flash!" The ex-thief quickly darted across the street, snaked up the large entrance steps and disappeared into the building.

"What—"

"We need to get back," Canard instructed as he turned away from the street. "Follow me."

The captain made his way back through the alley they had come from, turning the corner and following parallel to the main street for a block. When they reached the corner there Canard ushered the rest of the group to remain quiet as he pulled out his portable computer. A hologram began to shine above the computer, showing a street map of the area they were in.

A cluster of dots seemed to signify their whereabouts, but about a dozen other dots seemed to be spreading out from the old library slowly.

"He triggered the alarm?" Mallory whispered, her hand instinctively coming to rest on her weapon.

"That's the plan," Canard answered. "Tanya said there'd be no other way to get out."

Mallory followed the dots with her eyes, calculating. "They're going in pairs. Two of them will be turning down this alley in about three minutes."

"We should need only one."

"Miss anyt'ing?"

The entire group jumped, Mallory instinctively pulling out her pucklauncher at the newcomer. Duke smiled at her in return, making her glare at him as she reluctantly replaced it in its holster.

"You have a death wish, L'Orange."

"It's Duke, Swee'heart. And ya better get used to me 'cause it sounds like we're all in d'is for the long haul."

"Dude! How did you do that? Teach me, please!" Nosedive, even whispering, could not hold in his excitement over Duke's silent entrance.

Duke crossed his arms and chuckled. "Kid, you're gonna gi'e me a big head."

Wildwing rolled his eyes at his brother's enthusiasm but returned his attention to the hologram map. He really did not want to meet up with the government, even if they were the good guys.

Another minute ticked by tensely. Despite the map's dots depicting the guards in the area, a rustling sound came from the supposedly empty alleyway behind them. Both Canard and Mallory reached for their weapons this time, aiming them at the sound.

A tall figure in a hood rounded the corner, their eyes glued to their own portable computer and hologram map.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, looking up to find herself down the wrong end of two pucklaunchers.

Canard dropped his aim, signaling to Mallory to do the same. "Tanya?"

The hooded figured pulled down the cloth covering her head, revealing bushy blonde hair and purple-tinted visors on her eyes. The hood was a part of a larger wrap that covered most of her body, but you could see the government-issued light purple uniform beneath, along with the government-style boots that both Mallory and Canard also wore.

The wrap was also pulled up on her forearm, revealing a rather svelte computer device attached to it. Its white metal glistened despite the lack of sunlight.

The blonde duck cocked her head slightly. "Uh, yeah, who else would it be?"

Her voice was laden with a slight stutter as she spoke, but it did not appear to bother her in the least. She smiled at the group before her.

"We need to get moving, _now_ ," Mallory interrupted, her eyes returning to Canard's map. Sure enough, two dots were beginning to turn down the alleyway they were next to.

"Follow me," Canard instructed, quickly but quietly taking them further back into the city.

The group traveled a few blocks, zigzagging between deserted buildings and the crumpled ruins of others. Reaching another alleyway that was closed off from a collapsed wall, Canard signaled to the rest to stop, taking a moment to drink from his canteen.

Tanya pulled out her computer, similar to Canard's, and began typing and pressing buttons furiously. Canard motioned to her.

"Everyone, this is Tanya Vanderflock: head scientist at Metro-Guard industries. She's designed most of the current land and aircraft used by the military to date."

Tanya glanced up at her name being said and smiled.

"Tanya, this is Wildwing and Nosedive Flashblade, Duke L'Orange, and Mallory McMallard." Canard pointed to each duck respectively as he named them. Tanya nodded to each but lingered on Duke and Mallory.

"Duke L'Orange, leader of the Brotherhood of the Blade?"

Duke smiled. "At yer service, Angel."

Tanya quirked an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything more. She turned to Mallory. "I met your father, he had a, uh, good head on his shoulders. I'm sorry for your loss."

Mallory's expression was neutral but she nodded to the blonde duck. "Thanks."

Silence once again reigned on the area, with only the occasional hum of machinery echoing in the distance. The weather was dry but still eerily colder than usual, leaving the ducks hunched against walls to keep out of the drafts.

Nosedive opted to sit on an old crate nearby, once again rubbing his sore feet. "Yo, Tanya, question for you."

"Hmm?" The newest member exclaimed, her head once again in her portable computer.

"How come you didn't show up on our map as a dot?"

Tanya took a moment to register the words, her mind obviously elsewhere. She looked up at Nosedive eventually, shrugging. "Easy. You just tell other computers in your, um, range, to ignore your lo-location."

Nosedive paused. "Easy?"

"Sure, just gotta program it into the data your com—computer sends out, you know?"

"Okay. How did your guards not see us then? They had those computers, too," Mallory asked as she zipped back up her oversized jacket.

"Oh, I temporarily blocked their ability to see anyone … long enough for us to get, you know, out of there."

Canard handed off his water canteen to Wildwing, who accepted it gratefully. "Tanya, you have the data we need?"

Tanya looked up at him and nodded. "Yup. Should be easy to break into their, you know, security, and shut it down."

"Shut what down?" Duke asked as he leaned against the wall.

"Their mainframe. It's what controls all the Monitor Towers. We, uh, take that down and they can't relay when they need backup."

"We can take them down without reinforcements coming?" Mallory asked.

Tanya nodded. "Oh yeah, and they won't be able to turn on their, uh, defenses, or take off either. Not unless they got real Saurians manning the, um, ship."

"This is all very interestin', but it seems like we're forgettin' about t'at little device on da Mast'r Tower. Ya know, the one d'at kinda makes it invisible?" Duke took the canteen Wildwing offered him but passed it down to Nosedive instead of taking a drink.

"I've got that taken care of," Canard interjected.

Duke's eyebrow rose suspiciously but he kept his beak shut.

Nosedive, however, didn't. "What's with all the secretive stuff Canard? Afraid we're gonna tell everyone we come across?"

Canard glared at the teenager. "I've _gotten it taken care of_."

Nosedive kept the older mallard's glare for a few seconds before a realization struck. "Drake, you don't even know if it WILL work do you?"

Canard outright growled at the young teenager but did not have time to respond.

"HALT."

The robotic voice echoed into the closed-off alleyway, startling the entire group.

"Shit!" Mallory and Canard pulled out their pucklaunchers as the drone lifted up his arm to aim his laser.

Duke quickly ran up a couple discarded boxes, using his momentum to scale the wall briefly and gain height. With a precise flip he pulled out his saber and sliced the machine's arm clean off.

But not before a laser shot fired out.

Wildwing's instinct kicked in and he jumped into Canard, sending him toppling into Mallory. All three of them hit the ground just as a laser meant for Canard pierced through the air and into the pile of rubble behind them.

Nosedive ran up to the drone just as Duke finished slicing off its arm, used its metal shoulders to jump over it, and took his momentum to flip the drone into the far wall behind it. With a satisfying _CRUNCH_ the drone sparked and died.

Tanya had not moved from her spot, instead watching the scene unfold with her computer still in her hand. She looked back down at the three ducks sprawled on the ground.

"Nice, uh, block Wildwing."

Wildwing quickly stood up and offered his hand to Canard. Canard sighed and looked at him, opting to get up himself. Mallory, who ended up under the two rather large mallards, was a little slower at regaining her footing.

"I could've dodged that," Canard insisted, brushing off his pants. Wildwing cocked an eyebrow at him in response.

The captain paused before adding: "But…thanks."

Duke slapped Nosedive on the back good-naturedly. "I see da civilians do have some tricks up der sleeves!"

Nosedive, looking quite smug, pretended to brush some dust off his other shoulder. "Eh, nothing to it."

"That's good, 'cause we—uh—got about fourteen more coming." Tanya held up her hologram map to show the thick cluster of dots headed their way.

"What?" Nosedive squeaked.

"We fight them and we'll be sure to bring a Raptor on our tails," Mallory asserted, turning to Canard expectantly.

Canard, to his credit, nodded. "Our mission is a lot bigger than this. Let's move, team!"


	4. Chapter 4

Three long hours later the group found themselves northeast of the capital. The area was a mix between suburban and metro; it was a part of the city that had been relatively new but growing rapidly over a year ago.

Now the dusty remains of townhomes, domestic houses, and half-constructed buildings littered the deserted area.

"So where are we meeting this big dude?" Nosedive asked, the mostly silent walk nearly infuriating him. He had been the only one to try and start conversations throughout the trek, and like the sewers he was mostly talking to himself.

Canard did not respond to him, most likely a dig at their earlier confrontation that got cut short. Nosedive sighed and elbowed Wildwing in front of him.

Wildwing glanced back at him. "What?"

Nosedive nodded toward the captain. "Ask him my question."

Wildwing sighed and looked ahead. "Where are we meeting the, uh, last recruit Canard?"

Canard, keeping his eyes on the road ahead, only slightly turned his head so his voice would be heard. "He's meeting us, actually."

Nosedive rolled his eyes at Canard's instant answer.

Wildwing frowned. "At your hideout?"

Canard shook his head. "Near it. The guy is a bit of a nomad, helping others where he can. I had heard through the grapevine about him and had to ask around to finally meet up with him."

"What exactly does he do?" Mallory asked.

Canard smiled a bit before answering: "He's a meditation specialist."

The rest of the group exchanged glances with one another, no one quite knowing how to respond to that.

"So we got two military brats, a genius, a thief—"

"Ex-thief," Duke corrected.

"— _Ex-_ thief; a PEACEMAKER and two (very awesome and skilled) brothers to take down the most notorious Saurian of all time?" Nosedive paused for a beat. "This has got to be the most awesome dream I've ever had."

Wildwing could not help but smirk at his brother despite the situation.

Canard turned down a driveway leading to what appeared to be half-constructed townhomes. He walked up to the courtyard area and took a seat on one of the benches.

The rest of the group took the hint and also made themselves comfortable. Wildwing found a seat on the concrete perch of what appeared to have been a rather large fountain. Had this place had time to be finished he imagined it would have been one of the ritzier neighborhoods to live in.

Duke took a seat next to him, adjusting his coat so he wouldn't be sitting on it. He pulled out his saber from his shoulder holster and waited patiently as the blade began to materialize.

Wildwing watched him as he pulled out a cloth from his coat and began polishing it.

Before Wildwing could open his beak Duke interjected, "I don' have any idea how it works. It was passed down to me by my men'or."

Wildwing, at a loss for words, simply nodded. "It's pretty impressive," he commented.

"Has a grappling hook, too," Duke added, pulling on its end to show the cable woven inside. "One-time use o'course before you gotta replace it."

Wildwing nodded, not really knowing how that'd come in handy. But then again, he wasn't a thief.

Or an _ex-_ thief, for that matter.

Curiosity getting the better of him he probed: "So when did you become a _former_ thief?"

Duke smiled without looking at Wildwing, continuing his ritual of cleaning his saber. "According to da DuCaine Police I've ne'er officially been one."

Mallory was standing nearby and couldn't help but smirk. "You mean they couldn't ever convict you."

"Innocen' til proven guilty, right Swee'heart?" Duke winked at her, knowing full well she'd been eavesdropping.

Mallory rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, turning towards the two. "So, off the record, when _did_ you become a former thief?" she re-asked the question, her own curiosity getting the better of her.

Duke's smile turned slightly bitter as the two ducks watched him. "The day I saw the Saurians attack, like anyone else wit' a sense of pride.

"I started by helpin' my clan, gettin' 'em to safety and providin' supplies. As the Blade dispersed I realized I could do more … so I did."

"Seems like the military handled your reformation well," Mallory commented while glancing at Canard.

Duke shrugged. "D'ey were wary at first, but after a few good missions d'ey came around. Gave me a full pardon for my continued efforts, even."

Wildwing's eyebrows rose. "I thought you'd never been convicted?"

"I haven't. Doesn't mean d'ey wouldn'a kept tryin' though."

Mallory cocked her head slightly at the gray duck. "So, when this is all said and done, then what?"

Duke eyed her a few moments before shrugging again. "The Blade is no more. Would it get back toge'er? Meybe, pro'ly. But I doubt wit' my actions I'd ever be considered for lead again.

"I'd be a snitch, no matter the reasonin'. But I made my choice."

Wildwing glanced at Mallory and saw her features almost soften at his admission. When she realized he was looking at her it disappeared quickly.

Duke only glanced at her after the silence reigned longer than necessary. "Nothin' like bein' an outcast, eh Sweetheart?"

Mallory's eyes widened slightly at his dig towards her and she quickly glared at him before walking away.

Duke snickered to himself and resumed cleaning his saber.

Wildwing sighed and leaned back on his concrete seat, wondering not for the first time how the hell all these mismatched ducks were going to take down the biggest enemy Puckworld had ever faced.

On the other side of the makeshift encampment Nosedive had taken a seat next to Tanya on an old metal picnic table. Tanya had put her portable computer down and instead flipped a small panel on the computer attached to her forearm, pressing buttons and causing a small screen inside to show a multitude of commands.

Nosedive watched the genius work, perplexed. "What _is_ that?" he finally asked, motioning toward the forearm device.

Tanya did not glance up. "This? This is my _Omnitool,_ a—uh—a combo state-of-the-art processor and tool kit equipped with PSF laser tech—technology." Tanya beamed as she admired it. "With my own customizations, of course," she added.

"Of course," Nosedive repeated incredulously. He grimaced at his feet as he stretched them out. "It sounds like you had it pretty sweet in the gov' biz. Why join the ragtag team o' crazies?"

Tanya looked up at the younger blonde duck. "We aren't doing enough. With every, y'know, mission, we're still two steps behind them. We have to get them at their s-source."

Tanya looked away, her eyes clouding slightly. "So much has been lost—we have to do _something_."

Nosedive's humor dissipated as he watched her. "You lost your family?"

Tanya shook her head. "Not my parents or sister, thank Drake. I was able to get them on the base with me when—uh—when the war began. But all my aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, friends…." Tanya's voice was soft. "Who knows where any of them are? If they, y'know, survived? Our lives before are gone now, forever changed."

"Big family," Nosedive commented, unable to really say much else.

Tanya nodded in affirmation.

"Younger sister?"

Tanya nodded again.

"Cute?"

Tanya almost nodded before realizing Nosedive's question. Once it registered she instead opted to glare at him.

Nosedive grinned sheepishly and shrugged.

Tanya, still glaring, opened her beak to say something but stopped abruptly when her portable computer beeped quietly. She picked it up quickly and pressed a couple buttons. "We got company again," she announced, standing up along with Nosedive.

Everyone else that was seated stood, and those with weapons had them out in a blink of an eye. The courtyard of the half-built complex was quiet, with only the slightest breeze moving trash slowly along the ground.

"Tanya, are you sure?" Mallory finally whispered, her eyes glancing about. "I don't hear anything."

Tanya's hologram was up and she pointed with her finger. "See here? There's a bunch of dots—" she stopped mid-sentence, however, as those dots disappeared. "Wha-?"

Canard was next to her and looked at the map carefully. "They couldn't just disappear like that."

"Some sort of glitch?" Mallory suggested, her eyes never wavering off their surroundings.

"No, not pos—possible. My scanner can see anything within a mile ra—radius," Tanya insisted.

Duke stiffened suddenly next to Wildwing, causing the latter duck to look at him warily. Before he could ask, however, Duke answered:

"Not unless d'ey're comin' from above! INCOMIN'!"

As soon as he said it the rumbling could be heard. The ducks scattered as four Raptors—in their animal-like conformations—landed roughly on the ground. They had most likely took to the air, transformed up there out of scanner reach, and then allowed themselves to fall into their area.

With the courtyard the way it was there were few places to hide. Wildwing and Nosedive scrambled to a partially-constructed building, dodging the laser fire that seemed to rain down on them.

Reaching the safety of a wall the brothers took mental note of their lack of wounds and peered around the corner.

Each of the Raptors seemed to have cornered each of the remaining ducks. What unfolded next was a testament to the team Canard had handpicked:

Tanya, though seemingly not a fighter, still managed to quickly dodge and circle the large machine raining laser fire on her. As she made her way around the large machine, she quickly pressed some buttons on her Omnitool, pulling something small out of it and attaching it to the Raptor's back leg. Instead of continuing circling she darted towards a building as the Raptor turned, aimed its weapons at her, and suddenly exploded.

The explosion knocked the scientist off her feet, but she quickly got up to survey her damage and looked rather proud of the results.

Not too far off Duke danced around his own Raptor, slicing his saber into its gleaming metal and sending sparks flying. After about four slashes the ex-thief got a strong hit into the back of the Raptor's neck, causing the machine to jolt in its movements before finally shutting down. Not one to take anything for granted, Duke climbed up and finished the job, using his saber to completely slice through and behead the machine.

When he gracefully landed the head of the machine crashed and sparked next to him. The gray duck smirked, twirling his saber in his hand before sheathing it.

Near the other end of the courtyard Mallory had been using her pucklauncher as a decoy, shooting but not really aiming at the Raptor. Once she got close enough she quickly holstered her weapon, jumping up and sending a strong roundhouse kick to the machine's arm that housed its laser weapon. The metal bent and the next shot that came out got stuck, causing a small explosion in the arm that completely took out the weapon.

Running behind the machine the redhead turned and quickly jumped on the tail, running up the back of the Raptor. With two quick and agile jumps she got on the Raptor's head, pulled out her pucklauncher and aimed straight down. The resulting explosion caused Mallory to quickly jump down and roll away just as the machine—in a fit of small of explosions and smoking debris—came crashing to the ground.

And the team leader himself had no problems dismantling his own Raptor. Canard was not the least bit fazed by the laser fire that was coming at him. After ducking behind a few construction beams and sending a few pot shots himself, the large mallard managed to circle the machine and quickly make his way to its tail. Like Mallory, Canard scaled the back of the Raptor and reached its head. However, he holstered his weapon and used his hands to rip open a panel in the back, pulling out a bunch of wires in the process.

The machine sparked and quickly died down, falling face-first into the barren ground. Canard jumped off just as the machine toppled over, brushing his hands off as if it had been the most simplest of tasks.

With all four Raptors now completely dismantled, Wildwing and Nosedive slowly came out of their hiding spot.

"Dang," was all Nosedive could muster as they watched the other four ducks reconvene.

"Yeah," Wildwing mused. "Why are we here again?"

Nosedive smirked at his older brother but did not respond. He looked up at the four and did a double take.

"BEHIND YOU!" Nosedive bellowed, pointing through the four ducks.

Wildwing and Nosedive were too far away to do anything else without weapons. The group collectively turned to see about six drones descending on them quietly. Having been spotted the drones lifted their arms and aimed at the ducks, leaving little time to for anyone to react.

Thankfully, they didn't have to. A huge mallard—larger than probably Wildwing and Nosedive combined—came charging through the drones, sending them all into a charred stack. For the two machines that still remained functional a heavy blow with the stranger's fist sent both of them crumpling into a heap on the ground.

The large mallard had lighter gray feathers than Duke and shoulder-length black hair that was slicked into a tight ponytail. His shoes were slightly tattered and made with wrapped fabric; the same type of fabric was wrapped around both his hands and wrists as well, similar to how a boxer would prepare his hands before donning gloves. He wore a simple white tank top and dark purple sweatpants that went to his knees, along with a well-worn brown jacket with its sleeves rolled up to the elbows.

Canard broke the shocked silence by walking up to the mallard, who was now standing up out of the debris and brushing his pants off. "Mr. Hardwing, I guess we owe you one."

Mr. Hardwing, as Canard put it, only bowed respectfully to the team leader. Wildwing and Nosedive had caught up to the rest of the group by now and even Wildwing—who was slightly taller than Canard—had to look up to meet the large duck's face.

"I thought we weren't meeting up until tomorrow?" Canard asked, holstering his weapon. Mallory and Duke followed suit, as they had barely had time to pull them out when they realized they had drones about to annihilate them.

"Each duck must prove they are constant with honor and spirit," he responded, bringing his palms together in a typical pacifist's prayer. "A team cannot be one without loyalty, and for that you have all shown the highest regard."

There was silence among the team until Duke finally asked: "So, uh … you were followin' us?"

The large mallard nodded.

"Glad we proved to you what you, um, needed to know," Canard answered hesitantly. He cleared his throat and motioned to the rest of the team. "This is—"

"I know your names. Mine is Check Hardwing, but I prefer my chosen name Grin."

"Grin?" Nosedive practically squeaked.

The large mallard nodded again, his hands coming to rest at his sides. "It is the name given to me by my sensei, after I learned to control my anger."

Mallory and Tanya glanced at one another with wide eyes but did not say anything. Silence eventually reigned as the team finally looked to Canard for the next order of business.

Canard sighed a bit, his hands coming to rest on his hips. "Well, since we got everyone together I guess it's time to head to the hideout."


	5. Chapter 5

Nightfall had long descended on DuCaine Metropolis by the time the collective group had made their way to Canard's hideout. Nestled slightly southeast of downtown, under the road and in the old sewer system, Canard came up to a rather large steel door that slid open effortlessly with the input of the correct password.

Beyond the steel doors the sewer floors had been covered with another alloy, making them smooth and clean. The smell that lingered in the sewer did not seem to drift into the hideout. Looking around an array of crates and supplies could be seen strewn about, along with a couple of computers, a makeshift bed made out of a hammock, and to Wildwing's delight a walled-off area that appeared to be built-in lockers and showers.

"What is this place?" Nosedive finally asked, glancing around at the oddly constructed refuge.

"The Resistance used to use this as their main headquarters," Mallory answered when Canard did not. The brown mallard had immediately walked over to the computers and began connecting his portable equipment to it.

"They were pretty small in the beginning, so they constructed what they needed and used what was already available," Mallory continued. "I thought they took most of it when they moved, but I guess not everything is transportable."

"I brought a lot back, actually," Canard clarified. "Most everything was gone except the showers, which are connected to the city's old reservoir."

"Nothing like a, uh, ice water shower to wake you up, huh?" Tanya joked, walking around to view the area. She stopped abruptly just past Canard's computers and pointed at something around the corner. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked excitedly.

Wildwing and the others curiously walked over to see what she was referring to. On the other side of the hideout—just beyond the showers—was a massive jet, glistening brand new even in the dim light of the hideout.

Canard smiled at the airship. "One of the last of the Aerowings, built right here in fact."

"I know—I, uh, designed it!" Tanya exclaimed, walking up to the airship and rubbing her hand along its side. "The Resistance uses the larger models now, but uh—this one really is my best design yet."

"Why was it left 'ere?" Duke asked, walking up next to the blonde duck to admire the jet's aerodynamic shape.

"Because it was built in here and there's only one way to get it out," Canard explained, looking up. Following his gaze Wildwing could see two rather large steel doors above the airship, their hinges indicating that the doors opened up and out.

"They outgrew this place before they were in need of the ship. It wasn't worth alerting half the Monitor Towers in the city to save one aircraft, so they just left it."

"Is that what we'll be usin', then?" Duke asked, having walked the length of the ship and returning to the group.

Canard nodded to him. "Once we fly out of here we'll be on everyone's radar—there won't be any turning back then."

"Well, uh, before we go off and do a silly thing like that, I think I'm gonna take my chances with that ice water shower," Nosedive grinned.

* * *

Despite how ridiculously cold it was, it was probably the longest and greatest shower Wildwing had ever taken. It took three solid washes to remove the buildup of dirt and grime in his feathers, along with an entire bar of soap. Freshly clean and given a basic uniform of green pants, a long-sleeved green shirt, military-grade boots, and a belt, Wildwing had no qualms trashing his old outfit once and for all.

In the main area Wildwing smelled hot food coming from what looked like a portable stove. Walking over to the aroma he was greeted with a large bowl of stew from Grin.

"You cook?" Wildwing asked curiously.

"Energy is the key to life," the large mallard simply stated, returning to the large pot simmering on the burner.

"Well, uh, thanks," Wildwing replied, still slightly shocked at seeing hot food in a place like this. He looked to his right to see on the table a few loaves of bread, some spread, and a bunch of wide-brimmed spoons. He dressed a slice of bread and grabbed a spoon before walking over to the group, who appeared to be using the supply crates as makeshift chairs.

Finding an empty seat next to his brother, Wildwing sat down amongst the conversation. It appeared Nosedive was given similar threads after his shower: a short-sleeved green shirt, pants, belt, and military-grade boots.

"Wow, and I thought Dive havin' blonde hair was a su'prise!" Duke commented at him.

"You clean up nicely," Tanya added, smiling at him. "Had no idea you had, you know—white feathers."

Wildwing blushed slightly but shrugged it off. "Yeah, well, a year in the caves will do that I guess."

"You guys were mining beryllium?" Mallory asked, sounding surprised.

Wildwing nodded. "Wasn't everyone that wasn't free?"

"Most priso'ers are in d'eir factories now, making drones and Drake knows what else," Duke responded as he took a bite of his bread. "And d'ose unlucky enough in the mines don't usually last long, from what I 'eard."

"I don't know if that makes us lucky or unlucky then," Wildwing reflected, taking a sip of the stew. It was hot, savory, and seasoned with spices and herbs to give it a slight kick as he swallowed. The warm feeling it left was something he had not experienced in such a long time….

In simpler words, it was delicious.

"It makes you stronger or it kills you," Canard interjected, taking a sip of his own bowl of brew. "Those I've seen come out of the mines are weakened and permanently changed. Many have lost the will to live."

Wildwing and Nosedive glanced at one another, unsure of how to respond. Finally Wildwing said: "I wouldn't say we aren't changed from it."

"Or weakened by it," Nosedive added. "It wasn't a walk in the park, but we managed." Feeling a bit under the microscope Nosedive looked around at the group. "Were none of you captured?"

The rest of the group looked at each other and back to Nosedive, collectively shaking their heads. Grin came up with his own bowl of stew and bread then, opting to sit cross-legged on the floor to enjoy his cooked meal.

"What about you Grinster? Never was captured?" Nosedive asked.

"One cannot help others when one is in need of help themselves," Grin responded.

"I'll … take that as a no?"

Grin shook his head in agreement, choosing to sip his stew straight from the bowl rather than use a spoon.

"I guess we were the only suckers then, eh Wing?"

"You aren't suckers," Mallory retorted, dipping some of her bread into the broth. "We were lucky in our positions when the war started."

"She's right. Da Brot'erhood lived underg'ound to begin wit', so we had a jump start on ever'one."

"And the government had, uh, good evacuation routes," Tanya added.

"Perhaps," Wildwing said quietly. "But right now I'd have to say we're all pretty lucky right now."

"'ere 'ere to that," Duke said, raising his stew bowl as a toast.

The group raised their bowls in response and drank from them, a chorus of smiles and, "Here here!"s preceding it.

The rest of the dinner went by smoothly with light conversation, stories of their time before the war, and Nosedive's ridiculous jokes that he insisted were hilarious. Wildwing knew very little about all these strangers, but oddly felt at ease with them. He imagined it was probably because he'd been starved for friendship in the mines for so long, but the more he conversed with them the more he felt like it was something more meaningful than that.

As dinner finished and the group slowly scattered, either taking some time to reflect or simply to rest, Canard pulled Wildwing aside to speak to privately.

"Looks like the military clothes fit nicely," he commented.

Wildwing looked down at them, laughing lightly. "A little tight for my taste, but I suppose that serves a purpose."

"The material is meant to withstand a lot of brunt force—great when fighting machines that like to blow up and shoot shrapnel at you."

"Ha, I imagine."

Canard leaned up against his computer desk and crossed his arms. "So are you ready for tomorrow?"

Wildwing sighed. "Can I be? I still don't know why I'm here, Canard. These ducks—"he looked around to the others in the midst of their own conversations"—are all great at what they do. But what the hell am I going to do to help take down Dragaunas?"

Canard smiled at Wildwing, shaking his head. "Believe it or not, Wing, you have a lot of potential. It's why I always tried to get you to join the Special Forces with me."

Wildwing outright laughed at that. "Canard, buddy—come on. Aside from maybe Grin over there I'm probably the biggest pacifist you'll find in DuCaine Metropolis."

"You don't have to be trigger-happy to be in the military Wing, trust me," Canard replied. "Believe it or not, the Special Forces are all about keeping the peace."

Wildwing cocked an eyebrow at him incredulously.

"Every mission we go on is to protect our home or save those that have been captured. You're one of the biggest protectors there is—you've always been that way with your brother, your parents, your friends—you already have ingrained in you what the Academy spends years trying to teach its cadets."

Wildwing sighed, shaking his head. "Yeah, well, maybe in another life, huh?"

Canard shook his head back at him. "Nope, this life. Tomorrow. With the right armor, of course," he grinned and beckoned Wildwing over to a crate not far from them.

"Canard—"

Canard ignored him, instead picking up the heavy alloy lid of the box and tossing it to the side. "The Special Forces had this prototype that we'd tried on a few missions. It worked flawlessly but never had the chance to make it to full production." The brown mallard brushed some straw out of the top of the crate and pulled a rather large, white chest plate out of the box. "It's really meant for defense, which has never been my strong suit." He turned and handed Wildwing the large piece of armor.

Wildwing slowly took it from him as he surveyed the equipment. "This is _huge_."

Canard laughed. "It looks ridiculous, but trust me—it's made from a special metal that's light but strong, and the arms have a dozen contraptions within that allows for offensive maneuvers as well."

"The arms?" Wildwing asked as he looked at the chest plate.

Canard nodded and turned back to the box, fishing out the remaining two pieces of equipment. "Here, try it on."

Wildwing hesitated briefly before slipping the chest armor over his head and snapping it in place. The arm pieces consisted of heavy alloy forearms and thick, goalie-like black gloves that he slipped on without any problems.

"I feel like a fool."

Canard grinned and shook his head. "You look like you were meant for that look, Wing."

"Whoa!"

Wildwing heard his brother call out and barely had time to register the sound before another one followed:

"WATCH OUT!"

Wildwing's instincts kicked in. His heavy forearm armor came up to protect his face and instantly came in contact with a heated puck.

The flaming hot puck ricocheted off his armor with a _CLANG_ and, with less ferocity, pinged against the ceiling before coming back to the ground and skidding into some crates.

Canard growled, waltzing up to the source of the friendly fire and snatching the weapon out of Nosedive's hands.

"This is _precisely_ why kids shouldn't tag along."

"Canard, easy," Wildwing warned. "It was an accident."

Nosedive had not backed down his stare to Canard. "I'm _not_ a kid."

Canard didn't respond to his statement, instead taking a step back with the weapon in hand. "He nearly took your head off Wing, and you want him to come with us to take down the last remaining Saurian Overlord?!"

The other team members smartly kept their beaks shut, but watched the heated conversation intently.

Wildwing walked up to the two, still adorning his battlegear. "I told you Canard, he was a part of the deal. We stay together or we go together."

"Drake, Wildwing, he's going to get you or one of us killed, and that's going to be on _you_."

"You know, I'm getting really sick of being treated like a leftover cookie, here!" Nosedive interrupted, his arms crossing in front of him. "I don't need protecting and I'm not going to going to get anyone killed!"

Nosedive's usual happy demeanor had quickly soured, but he looked to Wildwing and added: "Sorry, bro, about the puck."

Wildwing, surprised at the apology, just nodded at his brother. As soon as he did, Nosedive turned and walked away from the group, heading towards the Aerowing.

The silence was heavy as he left, but Duke decided to speak up: "Canard, you sure know how ta make friends, eh?" Duke shot a meaningful look over to Mallory, but she ignored him, keeping her arms crossed in front of her and her head down.

Canard glared at him but did not respond. He walked over to Wildwing determinedly.

"You hear me, and you hear me _once_ on this. That kid stays in the Aerowing when we get there, and he is NOT to be given a weapon, got it?"

Canard's voice had lowered since he was close to Wildwing, but through gritted teeth it sounded downright menacing.

Wildwing was not afraid of his friend and didn't give a damn about his captain status. But he nodded to the request because—quite frankly—he felt Nosedive would be safer in the plane anyways.

He'd still give him a weapon for defense, but Canard didn't need to know about that.

After Wildwing's nod Canard seemed at a loss of where to go to next. His anger was almost emanating off of him, but in a small facility like this it wasn't very easy to get any privacy. He finally sighed and walked past Wildwing, back towards the crates they had dug his battlegear out of. He sat down next to where his equipment was plugged in charging and began typing on his computer.

Wildwing couldn't tell if it was for show, and at this point didn't really care.

He pulled off the forearm armor and chest plate, placing them on the ground out of the way. The rest of the group had seemingly dispersed to do their own thing again.

"That was quite a move."

He looked up and saw Duke standing next to him suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere.

Wildwing shook off the surprise and shrugged. "No different than being a goalie, I guess."

"You an' Canard go way back, huh?"

The change in subject threw Wildwing off again, but he recovered. "Yeah, grew up together."

"He always like that wit' his friends?"

"He … has a lot of pride," Wildwing finally offered, glancing back at the tan mallard. "He and Dive have never got along."

Duke made a sound of acknowledgement but did not probe. Eventually he stood up from his leaning position against the wall. "Remin' me to stand behind you tomorrow," he added as he walked away.

Wildwing watched him, perplexed. His eyes wandered to see Tanya and Mallory sitting together, talking quietly. Grin was not far away, sitting cross-legged on the floor with his eyes shut, presumably meditating.

Sighing, he walked over to where his brother had disappeared to.

"Dive?" he called out softly, peering around the Aerowing.

"Up here."

Wildwing frowned, following the sound with his eyes. Nosedive was sitting on the wing of the large airship, nearly masked by the shadows.

"How'd you get up there?"

"I'm not eighty, Wing. There's a crate over there."

Wildwing glanced over and saw the crate in question. He went over and stood on it, using the extra height to help boost himself onto the wing. He grunted a bit to lift his bodyweight—boy did he need to work out again—but managed to get himself up without too much struggling.

He walked over to his younger brother and sat next to him, dangling his legs over the side. They sat together like that for a few minutes, neither saying anything.

"I miss Mom and Dad," Nosedive finally said at barely a whisper.

"Me too," Wildwing replied after a long pause.

"That's why were here," Nosedive added. "To see them again."

Wildwing nodded, his throat becoming tight as he stared at the far wall. On this side of the plane there wasn't much to see—the rest of the group was on the other side, where most of the living quarters had been set up.

It was quiet where they were, the area masked in the shadows of the large airship.

"I'm not going to mess this up, Wing. There's too much at stake." Nosedive's voice was quiet but determined when he spoke. Wildwing knew his brother well enough to know he meant every word.

"I know, Baby Bro." Wildwing brought his arm around Nosedive's shoulders, providing his younger brother a show of support. Nosedive glanced up at him and smiled, despite his seemingly depressed attitude.

"I am sorry about that puck," the blonde duck added again, his elbows resting on his legs and his hands holding his head up as his feet kicked back and forth repetitively.

Wildwing smirked slightly. "It's okay."

"Seriously, though, that was like the most sensitive trigger ever."

"I've been through worse."

It was a lighthearted retort to Nosedive's comment, but the statement itself held a lot more truth once it was said out loud. Both brothers were silent after that.

* * *

Wildwing swallowed hard as he adjusted the seatbelt in the giant airship. His dad had taught him how to fly when he was in high school—in fact, both he and Nosedive had the opportunity to pilot their dad's old propeller.

Canard had taken some time in the morning to go over the basics of the ship with him—which was surprisingly similar to the controls on his dad's plane—but no one could truly learn to fly this plane with one briefing. A top-of-the-line military airship was _not_ a propeller aircraft. Not to mention they were about to alert every Monitor Tower within ten miles of their presence.

His next swallow was ever drier than the last.

"I didn't know you could get whiter, Wing."

Wildwing jolted at the words, turning next to him to see Duke. The former thief grinned at him cheekily as he walked to a chair further to the side of the ship to sit down. Wildwing didn't answer him, instead looking back to the windshield in front of him. Outside he could see Canard and Tanya gathering some last boxes of equipment.

After their mission was complete—and provided they were still alive—they would need to get as much of this equipment back to the Resistance to help take down the remaining Monitor Towers scattered throughout the cities. It was too much to bring on this mission, but they wanted to be able to pack quickly upon their return.

After they had succeeded.

"I take it this is a walk in the park for you?" Wildwing retorted, not intentionally harsh but still with a bite to it. Duke's constant sneaking up and cheeky talk was starting to even get to him, which was definitely saying something.

Duke didn't seem to take offense, if he even noticed at all. "It never is, but I'd never let you know it, ei'her." Duke smirked again at Wildwing, taking his seat in the Aerowing and turning his attention to Canard and Tanya as they walked up the ramp.

"You always this vague?"

"A hero that proclaims himself so is that much less of a hero."

Both Duke and Wildwing looked over to Grin, who apparently had been eavesdropping as he sat quietly in his chair. Wildwing shook his head.

"Never mind."

Once inside the ship Canard walked to the back with his portable computer, running a scan through it. Tanya, with her own portable computer, came up next to Duke and plugged it in, typing almost ferociously on the keypad attached to the side of the ship.

After the two had entered both Nosedive and Mallory followed. Mallory took her seat on the opposite side of Duke, her demeanor as cool and unreadable as ever.

Nosedive had been unusually quiet since his rather rough interaction with Canard the night before, but took his seat next to Grin in some rather svelte chest armor. Shaped similar to Mallory's—albeit designed for a male—the white armor appeared to fit to Nosedive like a glove and did not seem to limit his mobility at all.

Wildwing raised an eyebrow at him.

"Tanya figured it'd be good to not have a kid get shot to death on our mission," Nosedive answered his unasked question. "Plus, it's slammin' gear."

Wildwing rolled his eyes at his younger brother.

Tanya, who overheard his response, added, "Provided the drones, you know, shoot you in the chest only."

"I'll make sure to relay the info to them."

Canard had made his way back to the front of the ship, walking up next to Wildwing and checking the gauges on the large dashboard. He had been mostly ignoring the light conversation behind him but now turned to look at everyone.

"Are we ready?"

Tanya was the last to take a seat in the silence that followed. The others were already situated and did not respond to Canard. This was not a pre-game pep talk, and the question that was asked was not meant to be answered. They all silently waited for their next orders.

Canard did not hesitate: "Wildwing, close the ramp and start the engines."

Wildwing, who had been asked to be co-pilot with his previous training, nodded and quickly flipped the necessary switches to get the Aerowing purring. He simultaneously pulled a lever, causing the side doors on the Aerowing to fold in and close.

"Tanya, release the hatch."

As the Aerowing roared to life and began to slowly rise off the ground, Tanya pressed a couple of buttons on her console, causing a large groaning above them. Bits of debris began to rain down on the Aerowing's roof, various thumps and thuds reverberating through the large airship.

They would be on their radar now.

* * *

"The Monitors are controlled by a computer in Dragaunas' headquarters. That's our target."

"Yeah, but no one's ever _seen_ Dragaunas' headquarters," Duke retorted to the captain, his voice barely masking its uncertainty.

Canard smirked, almost waiting for the invitation. He reached into his satchel and pulled out the Drake DuCaine Mask. Wildwing watched the strange metal glimmer in the light as Canard placed it on.

The mask recognized the interaction immediately and seemingly hummed to life. Its white exterior glowed and became gold, the tiny circuitry within the borders of it lighting up and blinking. The eyes glowed red as Canard pressed something on the side of it, Canard's own features completely hidden.

"I have," Canard answered, his voice even more gruff under the guise of the mask. "Now prepare yourselves, we're almost there," he added, his beaming eyes never wavering from the landscape in front of him.

Wildwing followed his gaze, seeing only red desolation. After they had pulled out of DuCaine Metropolis and away from detection of the flying drones, the once suburban outskirts of the city were nothing more than demolished wastelands.

Without the shelter of the tall buildings or the lush forests, the once open neighborhoods that were prime real estate were now death traps, both from enemy watchers and the brutal elements.

Mallory did not hesitate to voice her incredulousness. "Here? We're twenty clicks from nowhere!"

"The Master Tower has an invisibility field around it—Dragaunas' cloak of darkness." Canard paused briefly before divulging, "And we're about to pass through it."

Everyone knew about the cloak. It was what took down the Guardian. If Canard was accurate then Wildwing had guessed right: the Master Tower had taken enough damage that it could not return to space, and instead hid itself right in the middle of everything.

Suddenly a brief glow of force field penetration coated the airship, its thin gold band of energy a stark contrast to the monochromatic red of the land. As quickly as the band of energy dissipated a seemingly nonexistent fog decided to clear, revealing piles of rubble and a huge, foreboding silhouette of a massive Monitor Tower. Looming ahead of the Aerowing it plumed a massive amount of smoke, covering the sky in its pollution.

The group of ducks stood anxiously at the front of the Aerowing, watching the Master Tower seemingly materialize out of nowhere as they entered into the cloaking field.

"Canard, how did you know?" Tanya asked, her voice in awe as they entered the command tower's refuge.

"I saw it with the mask, after retrieving it from Twin Beaks. It was brief—en route back to base—but it was unmistakable. That was when I realized we had a shot at this.

"My only hope was that it was incapacitated enough that they weren't jumping locations."

"Well . . . you were right," Duke answered when he finally found his voice. He glanced at the captain. "What else does that mask do, eh?"

Canard kept his gaze on the target before them. "It scans and recognizes almost every type of matter and energy in existence."

"And you couldn't tell this to us before because . . . ?" Nosedive retaliated, his voice still raw from the unresolved tension between the two.

Canard, to his credit, answered him: "This mask may be the only item we have against Dragaunas, and I've barely begun to discover its capabilities. But I don't know if its energy signature can be recognized by the Saurians. I didn't want to unnecessarily use its resources until we were ready."

Tanya harrumphed slightly. "You could've just, you know, explained that to us."

"I wasn't taking any chances out in the open. The less that was communicated the better."

"Well, we're here now," Wildwing moderated, his voice much more somber than usual.

The rest of the ducks remained silent after that, each watching the approaching fortress with both anxiety and determination. The spirited banter from the night before, as they had all sat around and ate warm stew, seemed like an eon ago.

These strangers each had a huge burden on their shoulders; a task with which no one would want to take because they'd be too afraid of failing.

And yet, here they all were.

There was no turning back.

fin


End file.
